Hugh Hefner

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The landmark sign that represents Hollywood and
glamour for the entire world, needed 12.5 million
dollars to save it from being torn down. Cahuenga Peak, on
the Hollywood hills may be the site of a new residential
complex.

Stars have been racing to offer donations to save the land - which
is owned by the (bankrupt) State of California (governed of course,
by a movie star, Mr. Schwarzenegger) from being sold to private
developers who want to 138 acres of Cahuenga Peak to become a new,
exclusive residential complex. At the last minute, the rescue
package was missing about a million dollars, and who else should
save the day but Hugh Hefner, the founder of the
Playboy empire, who handed over $900,000. Together
with contributions from the Tiffany Foundation and
heiress Aileen Getty, the landmark was salvaged.
"The sign represents the dream of millions of people. It's a
symbol, like the Eiffel Tower is for Paris. It stands for movies,"
Getty announced. She also contributed to its restoration back in
1978.
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100426/media_nm/us_hollywood_sign_5)

Symbolic as it may be, the legendary landmark began as nothing
more than a gigantic billboard made from iron sheeting, built in
1923 with the sole purpose of raising surrounding property values.
And shortly afterwards, the movies took over Southern California
and Hollywood began churning out products, the movies, that sold
the world on the idea of the American dream.

And it's become a symbol not only for artists working in film -
this icon of the 20th Century has inspired contemporary artists
like Maurizio Cattelan who, for an off-site
project for the Venice Biennale, decided to have
the sign "immigrate" to Sicily, on the hillside of Bellolampo above
the Palermo dump.

As the controversial artist explained, "Hollywood and Sicily have
always been close relatives. I think there's more violence on the
streets of Los Angeles than there is in Palermo. And American
movies have always fed off gangster stories. For good or bad,
Sicily and Hollywood share a common destiny: they are suspended
between geography and legend. So bringing Hollywood to Sicily is a
kind of a tribute."